Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton hits 119.9 mph home run, hardest

NEW YORK (AP) — Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit a 119.9 mph home run Wednesday night against the Houston Astros, the hardest-hit ball in the majors this season.

In the third inning of New York’s 9-4 victory, Stanton pulled a 1-2 curveball from rookie starter Spencer Arrighetti into the second deck in left field at Yankee Stadium, just inside the foul pole.

The 447-foot drive came one night after Stanton rocketed a 118.8 mph homer off Justin Verlander in Tuesday’s 10-3 win over the Astros that manager Aaron Boone described as a 2-iron.

“I don’t know,” Boone said when asked to describe Stanton’s homer Wednesday. “Just weird. Hashtag weird.”

It was Stanton’s third hardest-hit home run since Statcast tracking began in 2015. He launched a 121.7 mph drive off the bat against Texas in August 2018 — the big league record in the Statcast era — and a 121.3 mph shot at Washington in July 2020 that ranks second.

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